PREQUEL to BLURRY MOUNTAIN: “THE UNSETTLING”© 2026 Donald Whelpley CHAPTER SIX. THE BEAR WENT OVER THE MOUNTAIN. The family had never seen such glorious sunrises on the island, but in western North Carolina they were treated to them often. Nearly cloudless mornings with a light breeze and the eastern sky full of pinks, blues, and purples …
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GUEST POST from Don – THE UNSETTLING, chapter 5
PREQUEL to BLURRY MOUNTAIN: “THE UNSETTLING”© 2026 Donald Whelpley CHAPTER FIVE. SLOW AND PURPOSEFUL. On the coastal plains there were more slave than free, more black than white. The Negroes were not talkative. They always seemed to move with purpose, and looked neither left nor right. Once Grigor stopped negro man to ask directions. The man was furtive and only answered …
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GUEST POST from Don – THE UNSETTLING, chapter 4
PREQUEL to BLURRY MOUNTAIN: “THE UNSETTLING”©️ 2026 Donald Whelpley CHAPTER FOUR. EVERYTHING NEW. Glad to be on land, they couldn’t wait for the trip which would carry them closer to their destination. Grigor had heard the the mountains of North Carolina/Tennessee were cooler than the coastal plains and was good for cattle and sheep. That was his goal. On …
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GUEST POST from Don – The Unsettling, chapter 3
PREQUEL to BLURRY MOUNTAIN: “THE UNSETTLING” ©️2026 Donald Whelpley CHAPTER THREE. ANCHORS AWAY. Not long into May the family loaded the wagon and hitched a draft horse. They had a canvas tarp over their luggage, crates, and gifts because, of course, it was drizzling. Branwyn baked a few loaves of bread and packed some cheese for the trip to …
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GUEST POST from Don – The Unsettling, chapter 2
PREQUEL to BLURRY MOUNTAIN: “THE UNSETTLING” ©️2026 Donald Whelpley [Hope you enjoyed chapter 1 last month. If you missed it, go back and read that first. ~ Don] CHAPTER TWO. UPROOTING. March 1 was St David’s Day. St David was a devout Christian brother from the nine hundreds who on his deathbed said, “Brothers, be constant. The yoke which …
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GUEST POST from Don – The Unsettling, chapter 1
PREQUEL to BLURRY MOUNTAIN: “THE UNSETTLING” ©️2026 Donald Whelpley Several mentioned they wanted to read “more” about Blurry Mountain*, a short story from Christmas 2024. I thought I would, then I thought maybe I should write how we got here. Who founded the farm? Looking back at the early 1800s I had fun and learned much. Not only who, …
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SPECIAL GUEST POST from DON – WHY THE SHEPHERDS
WHY THE SHEPHERDS?A Christmas Monologue We talked among ourselves. Good News! Indeed this was the greatest of all news. We met an angel. We saw the baby. We found the solution to everything. One or two thought the baby born would be king, but that is nonsense. Kings are not born in stables, are they? Further, if anyone was to be king …
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GUEST POST from Don – “The Best Is Yet” (part 5)
“THE BEST IS YET” by Donald Whelpley, ©️2025 One of the widows at church was making a pest of herself. Richard wasn’t interested. She was VERY interested and said so in every way she could. Richard had volunteered to lead a Sunday morning Bible study on the Epistles. Of course, the widow showed up … as did several others who …
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GUEST POST from Don – “The Best Is Yet” (part 4)
“THE BEST IS YET” by Donald Whelpley, ©️2025 Richard knew, to quote Arthur C. Brooks, “the secret to happiness isn’t falling in love; it’s staying in love.” He had for most of his adult life. Sadly and unfortunately, that relationship ended naturally, as all “forever” relationships do, through the death of one’s spouse. Then what? You can’t put the …
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GUEST POST from Don – “The Best Is Yet” (part 3)
“THE BEST IS YET” by Donald Whelpley, ©️2025 Time is all about choices. It takes an average of less than 180 days (6 months) to decide whether the person you are dating is the person you want to marry. (If it is taking more than 2 years, you may be wasting valuable time. Less, and you’re probably moving …
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